Smokeless and odorless domestic incinerators



United States Patent Inventor Phillip G. Lallue Bay City, Michigan Appl. No. 695,634

Filed Jan. 4, 1968 Patented Sept. 8, 1970 Assignee Calcinator Corporation Bay City, Michigan a corporation of Michigan SMOKELESS AND ODORLESS DOMESTIC INCINERATORS 12 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

[1.8. CI 110/8, 1 10/160 Int. Cl; F23g 3/00, F231 9/04 Field of Search 1 10/7,

[56] References Cited UNiTliD S'I'ATES PATENTS 3,134,345 5/1964 King 110/160 3,249,076 5/1966 Hemingway.... 1 10/160 1,577,674 3/1926 Anderson 110/1601JX 2,619,022 1 1/1952 Hergenrother 98/46 2,929,342 3/1960 Young 1 10/8 3,043,249 7/1962 Hebert et al. 110/8(A)UX 3,104,629 9/1963 Crawford et a1. 1l0/8( A)UX Primary Examiner- Kenneth W. Sprague Anorney- Learman, Learman and McCulloch ABSTRACT: Smokeless and odorless domestic incinerators for burning garbage and other household refuse including means for limiting the stack temperature to an acceptable level, thereby eliminating the need for an overly insulated chimney. Means are provided to pass a cooling medium across the stream of combustion lay-products, thereby tending to extinguish flame and cool the combustion by-products.

Patented Sept. 8, 1970 Sheet of 3 14 TTOR/VEYS Patented Sept. 8, 1970 Sheet g of 3 3f SENSOR SPDJT/ THERMAL 55 FAN PILOT VALVE PILOT FLAME m SENSOR SPDAT MAIN VALVE INVENTOR. .65 l v Patented Sept. 8, 1970 Sheet INVENTOR. phl/A Lafiue. BY mowm ATTORNEYS SMOKELESS AND ODORLESS DOMESTIC IN CINERATORS This invention relates to incinerators for burning various forms of combustible refuse, trash and garbage, and more particularly to an incinerator designed to reburn off-gases or byproducts from primary combustion in a separate chamber, more commonly known as the secondary chamber where the off-gases or by-products of primary combustion are passed into an atmosphere of elevated temperatures of over 1,000F. and intermixed with oxygen, or passed through a flame more commonly known as an afterburner at a predetermined air flow rate so that the gases are reburned, and being of the hydrocarbon family, they are reduced to their lowest form of material. namely, carbon dioxide and water vapors.

It is well known that the incinerator is more or less a solid fuel burning appliance, using either gas or electrical energy as auxiliary heat to ignite, heat and sustain the combustion of the charge.

It is present day practice, due to large scale processing of foods, etc., that incinerators are utilized to consume large quantities of combustible materials such as papers, cartons, trash and accumulated debris in the homes, and the heat release from such combustible material is equal to, or greater than, the fuel used to initiate the process.

It is, therefore, one of the prime objects of the invention to provide a combination incinerator and venting means that provides a safe, compact and efficient method of inc'inerating household wastes with positive means for conveying the products of combustion to the outside atmosphere.

Another object of the invention is to provide an incinerator of compact and efficient design that utilizes a minimum number of parts because only one burner of a torch-like nature is utilized to burn the solids in the primary chamber and recombust the primary products of combustion from the primary chamber in the somewhat removed secondary chamber.

A further object is to provide a means of channeling the offgases of the primary combustion chamber into the path of a torch-like burner where it is heated to an elevated temperature; mixed with additional oxygen and forced to take a definite time delay path before it is released to the flue outlet of the incinerator, thereby creating a zone for recombustion of the combustible products entrained therein.

Still a further object is to provide a flame path travel in the secondary chamber that will lengthen the travel of the smoke, odor, fly-ash and secondary flames to secure adequate residence time in the secondary flame and elevated heat zone and complete the redestruction process of secondary combustion.

A further object still is to provide a safe venting means and mechanical force which will reduce stack temperatures from l,000F. to approximately one-third of this temperature before exhausting it to the outside atmosphere.

With the above and other objects in view, the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes may be made in the form, size, proportion and minor details of construction, without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages ofthe invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a part sectional, side elevational view of the incinerator and venting means, parts being broken away to more clearly show the construction, the arrows indicating the direction of air flow.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, sectional, side elevational view ofthe venting arrangement.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the venting assembly taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a wiring diagram.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, sectional plan view taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. I.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged, transverse, sectional view of the deflector, taken on the line 6-6 of FIG. 2.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings in which I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention. The numeral 12 indicates an outer casing of a downdraft type incinerator having side walls 14, a rear wall 15, a front wall 16, and a top wall 17, with a loading door 18 hingedly connected to the top wall by means of hinges (not shown) or the like. The casing 12 accommodates an inner liner L which has side walls 20-20, a rear wall 21, a front wall 22, and atop wall 23, and a conventional grate 38 is provided in the casing as usual and on which the garbage, etc. (not shown) is dumped prior to burning. A transversely disposed burner element 25 is mounted in the liner L which is divided into individual areas 26 and 27, respectively, by means of a grill or screen 28 which provides a relief area passageway 29 leading to an entrance opening 30 which opens into a secondary combustion chamber 31, and which is preferably formed of vertically disposed ceramic walls W, as shown. An opening 32 is provided in one wall W, and a pipe thimble 33 is mounted therein and projects into a smoke flue 34 in which a heat switch 35 is mounted, said flue, which is of larger diameter than the thimble 33, permitting flow of incoming room air through vents 36 provided in the casing 12 and which travel upwardly therethrough (see the arrows in FIG. 1 of the drawings).

The heat switch 35 is mounted in the smoke flue 34 and a conventional ash pan 37 is provided in the casing 12 directly below the grate 38 which is actuated in the usual manner.

The primary burner element 25 spans the lower end of the liner L and is connected to any suitable source of energy such as I 10 volts, 60 cycle alternating current, and openings 39 are provided in the burner wall for drying the charge (not shown), the one end of the burner being in substantial alignment with and directly adjacent the entrance opening 30 into the secondary combustion chamber so that smoke, odor and secondary flame flow through this opening into the secondary chamber 31 and thence into smoke flue 34 which leads upwardly and into the deflector housing C, the upper end of the smoke flue being open and discharging into the chamber 40 (see FIG. 1 of the drawings), and a collar 41 supports the chamber on the housing as usual.

The incinerator is spotted directly adjacent a wall H of the home, and the horizontally disposed housing C extends therethrough. The upper end of the smoke flue 34 projects a limited distance into the housing C and discharges to the quenching chamber 40, which chamber forms a horizontally disposed passage in which a wedge-shaped deflector 42 is mounted. The outer end of the chamber 40 projects beyond the side wall of the building H and a plate 43 forms a closure for the one end of said chamber and is provided with a screened section 44 to permit intake of outside air by motor for cooling purposes, and a plurality of louvers 45 are provided in the plate 43 to deflect any combustible matter that may be carried in the smoke flue. The deflector 42 is open at both ends and an intermediate plate 46 (FIG. 6) is interposed between the upper and lower faces of the deflector, said plate having a plurality of small openings 47 to permit passage of cool air from the fan 48 connected with motor M into the interior of the deflector for cooling purposes. The path of the arrows shown in FIG. I of the drawings shows the flow of offgases of primary combustion for channeling or conveying said off-gases into the path of travel of the torch like burner where they are heated to an elevated temperature, mixed with additional oxygen, and then forced into a definite time delay path before they are released to the flue outlet 34 of the incinerator, thus creating a zone for recombustion of a combustible material entrained therein. A motor M is mounted on the housing C in any approved manner with a blower wheel 48 connected thereto to force incoming outside air through openings 49 and 50 into the opening 420 and against the lower pitched face of the deflector to direct the cooling air laterally and obliquely upstream of the path of combustion byproducts. The cooling air mixes with the upward flow of heated air from the secondary combustion chamber. This mixing and speed of flow reduces the temperature of the mixture and as this air mixture flows over the downwardly pitched face of the deflector it creates a shearing action at the deep end 4212 of the deflector and quenches and shears any flame therein, due to the hot air stream mixing with the cool air flow from the motor. This dilution of flame causes the temperature to be reduced so that the gases can no longer support combustion. With this arrangement the outside air is motor driven and mixes with the flame and gases from the secondary burner so that the smoke, odor and secondary flames are exhausted to atmosphere through the louvers 45, providing a pattern as shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings. The plate 43 forms a closure for the outer end of the chamber 40 and the motor M can be driven from any source of power.

The electric diagram comprises a residential electrical supply L1 and L2 which is utilized for energizing the incinerator, and the control circuitry includes a timer T, a fan motor 55, and a sail switch 56. A pilot gas valve 57 with pilot ignition system 58, pilot flame sensor 59, main gas valve 60, and a thermal heat sensor and switch 35.

In operation, a charge of refuse is placed in the primary chamber 14, the timer T is then turned to the proper setting, permitting current from L1 to flow to the fan 55. When the fan reaches proper speed the sail switch 56 is closed, permitting current to flow to the pilot gas valve 57, and the glow coil transformer with glow coil 58 will ignite the pilot. The pilot heats the pilot flame sensor 59 to a pre-set temperature and actuates the switch, allowing current to flow to the main gas valve 60, thus permitting gas to flow to the main burner, which is in turn ignited by the pilot. At the same time current is shut off to the glow coil 58 and the glow coil transformer connected thereto.

Upon rising temperature in the exhaust flue the thermal heat switch 35 is actuated by a predetermined temperature, transferring current flow to the fan 55 from the timer T directly from L1. The fan will continue to run until the flue gases have reached a predetermined safe temperature after which time the switch 35 will be de-energized thereby turning off the fan motor 15.

If abnormal conditions should occur in the incinerator causing a sufficient rise in temperature to actuate the thermal heat switch 35 and permit current to flow from L1 to the fan 55, said fan will energize and continue to operate until the flue gases are again at a safe temperature permitting the thermal heat switch 35 to deenergize and shut off the current to the fan 55. Should there be a momentary power failure during a normal cycle period, the main gas valve will deenergize, shutting off the gas flow to the main burner. After a short cooloff period to allow the pilot flame sensor 59 to cool and reset the contacts, the pilot gas valve 57 will open and the glow coil will energize, lighting the pilot. At this point the circuit will be as in normal operation. The same sequence occurs in a case for momentary interruption in gas flow. lf abnormal conditions should prevent a reignition, the glow coil 58 will remain on a pre-set time limit, at which time there will be a safety lock-out of the ignition system. To obtain reignition after safety lockout, the timer T must be turned to the of position for a given length of time to allow the unit to purge itself of any entrapped gases. After this time period, the timer T may be turned to the desired setting and the system will continue as in normal operation.

From the foregoing descriptive matter and accompanying drawings it will be obvious that l have designed a method of multiple chambered combustion or smokeless and odorless incineration. It is to be understood that the form of the invention shown and described is to be taken as a preferred embodiment of the invention and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

lclaim:

1. An incinerator for burning garbage and combustible trash comprising:

a primary combustion chamber;

a burner in said chamber;

a secondary chamber connected to said primary chamber and including a smoke emitting flue portion;

a deflector housing connecting with said flue portion;

said deflector housing including deflector means;

means for forcing a cooling medium into said deflector housing and mixing it with the off-gases of combustion flowing outwardly in the smoke flue portion to cool said off-gases;

an exhaust flue leading from the deflector housing for exhausing the cooled mixture to atmosphere; and

said deflector means being disposed outwardly of said smoke flue and formed with a wall inclined inwardly toward said smoke flue in a direction leading toward said exhaust flue.

2. An incinerator as set forth in claim 1 wherein said deflector means comprises a target for said outwardly flowing gases in direct alignment with said smoke flue portion.

3. An incinerator as set forth in claim 1 including temperature responsive switch means mounted in the path of said offgases and connected with said means for forcing a cooling medium into said deflector housing for controlling the operation thereof.

4. The combination defined in claim 2 in which the open smoke flue extends a predetermined distance into the housing in direct alignment with said deflector.

5. The combination set forth in claim 2 in which said housing is provided with screened sections for admitting outside air to said deflector housing for cooling purposes, and directing it across the face of the deflector for mixing with the heated flue gases from the secondary chamber.

6. The combination set forth in claim 2 in which louvers are provided in one end wall of the deflector housing for exhausting the indrawn air to atmosphere.

7. An incinerator for burning garbage and combustible trash comprising:

a primary combustion chamber;

a deflector housing including deflector means;

a secondary combustion chamber connected with said primary chamber and including first flue means for passing the products of combustion from said secondary combustion chamber to said deflector housing;

said deflector means including a pair of spaced apart plates mounted outwardly of said flue means in said deflector housing; I

means for directing a cooling medium across both of said plates to cool said products of combustion; and

an exhaust flue connected with the deflector housing for exhausting the cooled products to atmosphere.

8. An incinerator as set forth in claim 7 wherein one of said plates most distant from said first flue means includes a plurality of apertures therein.

9. An incinerator as set forth in claim 7 wherein said plates extend inwardly toward said first flue means in a direction leading toward said exhaust flue.

10. An incinerator for burning garbage and combustible trash comprising:

combustion chamber means;

flue means communicating with said combustion chamber for conveying the stream of combustion by-products outwardly of said combustion chamber; and

means outwardly adjacent said flue means for directing a cooling fluid at an angle laterally inwardly across said outwardly flowing stream.

ll. An incinerator for burning refuse and the like comprising:

a primary burning chamber including burner means;

a secondary burning chamber for receiving the by-products of combustion connected with said primary burning chamber and including flue means for exhausting the byproducts of combustion;

thermally responsive switch means located in the path of said combustion by-products; and

fan means for cooling said combustion by-products connected in circuit with said thermally responsive switch means and adapted to be connected with a source of electrical power, and second switch means being responsive to said fan means and connected in circuit with means for controlling said burner means.

M. A method of incinerating refuse comprising: 

